This Thursday, Canada faces Qatar at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in a match filled with urgency and opportunity: to secure its first-ever World Cup victory, keep its chances alive of contending for first place in Group B, and prove that its status as a co-host can also translate into results.
Jesse Marsch’s team heads into the second match following a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, where Cyle Larin secured the Canadian men’s national team’s first World Cup point in the final minutes after six consecutive losses between the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Alphonso Davies’s uncertain status keeps Canada on edge
Now that all the teams in the group are tied with one point and have the same goal differential, there is little room for error.
Alphonso Davies remains the big question mark.
The Canadian captain missed the season opener due to a muscle injury and is still recovering.
On Tuesday, he took part in the warm-up with his teammates in Vancouver.
But the Canadian soccer federation, Canada Soccer, remains cautious about his availability.
A match full of urgency and opportunity
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Stephen Eustáquio, the vice-captain, admitted that he didn’t know if Davies would be able to play and noted that he still hasn’t been training normally with the team.
Without Davies, the offensive burden falls on Jonathan David.
Canada’s all-time leading scorer, the forward is going through an uncomfortable scoring drought and was substituted in the 61st minute against Bosnia.
An unusual decision for a player who is key to Marsch’s game plan.
Even so, his teammates have rallied around him.
Niko Sigur and Ali Ahmed insisted this week that there is no internal concern and that the forward will score again (Filed under: Canada vs. Qatar).
Qatar comes into the tournament in strong form after upsetting Switzerland
Qatar, for its part, comes into the match with renewed confidence after surprising Switzerland with a 1-1 draw in Santa Clara.
The team led by Spaniard Julen Lopetegui withstood Switzerland’s dominance for much of the match and was rewarded in stoppage time.
In a play finished by Boualem Khoukhi and officially recorded as an own goal by Swiss defender Miro Muheim.
That result already marks an improvement over Qatar’s performance in 2022, when it lost all three of its matches as the host.
The most recent matchup between the two teams went in Canada’s favor, as they defeated Qatar 2-0 in Vienna in September 2022, with goals by Larin and David.
But that friendly match is a distant memory for two national teams that have entered a new era, with new coaches and a different competitive landscape.
Canada is expecting a very supportive atmosphere in Vancouver, a city that played a key role in Davies’ soccer development.
And that’s where, if the team advances, it could also play its first two playoff games.
Qatar, under less pressure, will try to repeat the strategy that allowed it to defeat Switzerland: discipline, patience, and efficiency in the opponent’s box (Filed under: Canada vs. Qatar).
Probable lineups
Canada: Maxime Crépeau; Alistair Johnston, Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles; Stephen Eustáquio, Ismaël Koné; Tajon Buchanan, Ali Ahmed, Cyle Larin; Jonathan David. Head Coach: Jesse Marsch.
Qatar: Mahmoud Abunada; Pedro Miguel, Boualem Khoukhi, Tarek Salman, Homam Ahmed; Assim Madibo, Ahmed Fathy, Karim Boudiaf; Edmilson Junior, Akram Afif, and Yusuf Abdurisag. Head Coach: Julen Lopetegui.
Venue: BC Place, in Vancouver.
Time: 3:00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. GMT) – (Filed as: Canada vs. Qatar).
With information from EFE
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